Cycle triggering mechanism for automatic pin setter



May 26, 1970 B. c. PERRICONE 3,514,104

CYCLE TRIGGERING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PIN SETTER Filed June 25, 1968F IG.2

n IO 1 24 623 I4 INVENTOR.

BENJAMIN C. PERRICQNE BY M M M EM AGENTS United States Patent Ofice3,514,104 Patented May 26, 1970 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An inertiaswitch is mounted on the pit cushion of a pin setting machine toenergize the new set solenoid of the machine through a relay equippedwith a holding circuit. A deactivating switch in the coil circuit of therelay is operated by a cam on a shaft of the machine which makes onerevolution in each pin-setting cycle to open the holding circuit anddeenergize the relay as soon as the machine starts operating.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to automatic pinsetters, and particularly to an improvement in the cycle triggeringmechanism of a pin setting machine of the type disclosed in Pat. No.2,949,300 to William F. Huck et al.

The known machine is equipped with a movably mounted cushion in the pitat the rear end of the alley. When the cushion is struck by a thrownball or a pin with sufiicient force, a mechanical linkage attached tothe cushion pulls a trigger which starts the pin-setting cycle of themachine. If the cushion is not struck with a force suflicient to triggerthe machine cycle, a push button switch at the front end of the machinemay be closed by the bowler to energize a new set solenoid which pullsthe trigger independently of the cushion action and starts the cycle.

If a ball is thrown with unusual speed to impart a very heavy blow tothe cushion, the linkage and other mechanical elements of the automaticmachine may be damaged. It is therefore common practice to equip theknown pin setter with a shear pin arranged to interrupt the connectionbetween the pit cushion and the pin-setting mechanism proper and toprotect the latter. The alley must be shut down for several hours whilea broken shear pin is being replaced.

The object of the invention is the provision of an improved triggeringarrangement which responds to lightly thrown balls to initiate thepin-setting cycle, and which is immune to damage by heavy balls thrownwith great force, and thus makes shear pins unnecessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With this object and others in view, as willhereinafter become apparent, this invention, in one of its more specificaspects, provides the known automatic pin setter with an inertia switchmounted on the pit cushion in such a position as to close the circuit ofa relay in response to an even slight movement of the cushion. Onceenergized, the relay is kept energized by a holding circuit and closescontacts arranged in parallel with the aforementioned push button switchfor the new set solenoid. As soon as the machine starts moving in itspin-setting cycle, the relay is deenergized to prevent accidentaltriggering of an additional cycle in response to the vibration of themachine before the initially triggered cycle is completed.

Other features, additional objects, and many of the attendant advantagesof this invention will readily be appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description of apreferred embodiment when considered in connection with the appendeddrawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a bowling alley equipped with an automatic pin setter ofthe invention in a fragmentary side elevation; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic of the cycle triggering mechanism of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring initially to FIG. 1,there is seen a bowling alley equipped with an automatic pin setterwhich is identical with that more fully described in Pat. No. 2,949,300to William F. Huck et al., except as specifically stated hereinbelow.The known portion of the pin setter has been shown in the drawing onlyto the extent needed for a understanding of this invention. Primedreference numerals in this application relate to elements carrying thesame numeral in the patent.

An alley bed 1' normally carries pins near its near end, adjacent a pit2'. A console 8 at the front end of the alley is provided with anormally open push button switch 623'. A pit cushion is mounted in thepit 2' on two bars 136' at the sides of the alley, only one bar beingseen in the drawing. The bars 136 are suspended from triangular plates132' movable on the stationary machine frame, not itself shown. Dashpots138a attached to the rods 136' prevent swinging motion of the cushion135 after it has been struck by a bowling ball or a pin.

Only the casing 164 of a gear box and certain elements mounted thereonhave been shown of the pin-setting mechanism proper. The gearing in thebox 164' is driven by an input shaft 165 when a clutch 159 is engaged,the input member of the clutch being a pulley 161 driven by a V- beltand a nonillustrated electric drive motor.

When the clutch 159' is engaged, several output shafts on the gear boxcasing 164' revolve at different speeds. Cams on the output shaftsoperate the working elements of the pin setter and ultimately disengagethe clutch 159' when the pin setting cycle is completed. Only the outputshaft 176' is seen in FIG. 1. It rotates at such a speed as to make onerevolution during the cycle.

The clutch 159 is engaged by mechanical elements not seen in the drawingwhich are triggered in the known apparatus by a mechanical linkageattached to the bars 136, but not used in the modified pin setter ofthis invention. The gear box casing 164' also carries a new set solenoid580' connected by a link 581 to the triggering device and permitting theclutch 159 to be engaged by a bowler by means of the push button switch623'.

Except for the absence of the mechanical linkage connecting the rods136' to the triggering device for the clutch 159', the apparatusdescribed so far is common to this invention and the afore-mentionedpatent.

The lower ends of the rods 136' each carry an inertia switch 10, theprotective housing of one switch being seen in FIG. 1. A normally closeddeactivating switch 12 is mounted on the gear box casing 164 near theshaft 176', and its actuating element 14 is engaged by a radial cam 16on the shaft 17 6' during the cycling of the pin setter. The switchactuating element 14 is released only when the pin setter cycle iscompleted and the clutch 159- has been disengaged. FIG. 1 shows the cam16 in its inoperative position.

The schematic of FIG. 2 shows the circuit connecting the switches 10 and12 with each other and with the new set solenoid of the known machine.The solenoid 580' and its manually operated switch 623 are arranged inseries between the main power lines 600', 601' of the machine.

I provide an electromagnetic relay whose coil 18, when energized, closestwo normally open switches 20, 22. The switch 20 is arranged in parallelto the switch 623'. The primary winding 24 of a step-down transformer 24is connected to the main lines 600', 601'. One terminal of the secondarytransformer winding 26 is connected to one terminal of the coil 18. Theother transformer terminal is connected to one lead of each inertiaswitch and to one contact of the relay switch 22. The other contact ofthe switch 22 and the other lead of each inertia switch 10 are connectedto the other terminal of the coil 18 through the normally closed,cam-operated switch 12.

The inertia switches 10 are of the conventional type having anapproximately banana-shaped glass envelope 28, and leads sealed into oneend of the envelope which encloses a drop of mercury 30. The glassenvelope 28 is mounted on the associated bar 136' in such a positionthat any light blow against the cushion 135 causes the mercury drop 30to be projected toward the leads of the switch 10 to connect the same atleast momentarily.

As is evident from FIG. 2, closing of the switch 10 causes the coil 18to attract its armature, thereby closing the holding switch 22 andkeeping the coil 18 energized if the mercury drop 28 returns to theillustrated position. The solenoid 580 is energized through the closedswitch 20 and triggers engagement of the clutch 159'. As soon as theinput shaft 165' starts rotating and drives the shaft 176', the cam 16opens the switch 12, and the coil 18 is deenergized to release itsarmature. The pin setting mechanism performs its normal operating cycleand ultimately disengages the clutch 159, the deactivating switch -12being simultaneously closed by its non-illustrated return spring whenthe actuating element 14 on the switch is aligned with the low in thecam 16.

With the switches returned to the respective positions shown in FIG. 2,the triggering mechanism is ready for the next ball or pin striking thecushion 135'.

The position of each switch 10 on its bar 136' is best determined bytrial and error. The envelope 28 of each switch 10 should normally beelongated in a plane parallel to that of FIG. 1, and the inclination ofthe envelope in this plane will determine the sensitivity of the switch.It is readily selected to make the triggering mechanism responsive tothe striking of the cushion by a ball, but insensitive to maintenancepersonnel walking near the pin spotting apparatus. The vibrations causedby the heavy actuating mechanism in the gear box casing 164' andattached to the elements in the casing are normally sufficient to closethe switches 10, and the deactivating switch 12 is necessary under theseconditions to prevent undesired energizing of the solenoid 580'.

A lightly thrown ball may close the switches 10 for too short a periodto cause proper operation of the solenoid 580', and the holding circuitmainly consisting of the switch 22 and associated conductors isessential to reliable operation of the triggering device at highestsensitivity of the switches 10. When two switches 10 are mounted atopposite ends of the cushion 135', this sensitivity has been found to begreatly increased over the use of a single switch 10.

The electrical circuit elements introduced in the known pin setter bythis invention are rugged enough to have a long useful life. The relayshown in FIG. 2 may be mounted in any convenient location on the machineitself or remotely. The deactivating switch 12 may be opened after theinitiating of the pin setting cycle by a switch operating element otherthan the cam 16 specifically illustrated since many mechanical parts ofthe actuating mechanism move once back and forth during the cycle. Ifthe triggering mechanism is cocked by the actuating mechanism only latein the cycle, the opening of the deactivating switch 12 may be delayedcorrespondingly after the initiating of the cycle, but the switch 12should not be closed again much before the actuating mechanism comes toa standstill.

What I claim is:

1. In an automatic pin setter having a mechanical actuating mechanismfor operating the pin setter in a cycle, a triggering mechanism forinitiating a cycle of operation of the actuating mechanism, a pivotallymounted pit cushion adapted to be struck by a bowling ball and to bepivoted by the impact of the ball, connecting means connecting the pitcushion to the triggering mechanism for triggering said cycle ofoperation in response to the pivoting of said cushion, and electricalauxiliary means for operating the triggering mechanism, the improvementin the connecting means which comprises:

(a) an inertia switch mounted on said pit cushion in a position to causeoperation of said inertia switch when said pit cushion is pivoted by abowling ball; and

(b) connecting circuit means operatively interposed between said inertiaswitch and said electrical auxiliary means for energizing the electricalauxiliary means and for thereby triggering said actuating mechanism whensaid inertia switch is operated, said connecting circuit meansincluding 1) holding circuit means for keeping said eleC- tricalauxiliary means energized after operation of said inertia switch ceases,and

(2) deactivating means for preventing energizing of said electricalauxiliary means by said inertia switch and by said holding circuit meanswhile said actuating mechanism is in operation.

2. In a pin setter as set forth in claim 1, said connecting circuitmeans including an electromagnetic relay having a coil and two switchesoperated by said coil, said pin setter including a source of electricalcurrent, said electrical auxiliary means and one switch of said relaybeing arranged in series circuit with said source, and the other switchof said relay being arranged in series circuit with said coil andconstituting a portion of said holding circuit means.

3. In a pin setter as set forth in claim 2, said deactivating meansincluding a deactivating switch in series circuit With said coil, andswitch operating means drivingly connected to said actuating mechanismfor opening said deactivating switch after the initiating of said cycleand for closing said switch atthe conclusion of said cycle.

4. In a pin setter as set forth in claim 1, said inertia switchincluding an envelope of insulating material elongated in the directionof pivoting movement of said pit cushion, two leads sealed into onelongitudinal end of said envelope, and a drop of mercury movable in saidenvelope toward and away from said leads in said direction of pivotingmovement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,949,300 8/ 1960 Huck et al.

2,977,121 3/1961 Flint et a1.

3,160,011 12/1964 Ogden 200-61.45 X 3,193,290 7/1965 Dowd et al.

3,197,205 7/ 1965 Shelton et a1. 27343 3,288,240 11/1966 FranzelZOO-61.52 X 3,411,780 11/1968 Mellon.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner

